I forgot to mention this. The gang, except Stork and Radarr, are about seventeen-eighteen years old. Stork's about twenty-four.

Chapter Two

"Where is he?" Aerrow bellowed as he stormed onto the bridge. A sneer curled his lips as he glared at the Merb that stood at the helm.

"Wh-where's who?" Stork stuttered.

"Finn!" the Sky Knight yelled. "Where is he?"

"I-I think he's in the k-kitchen."

Aerrow shot the Merb a murderous glare and stormed off the bridge down to the kitchen.

Finn scoured the kitchen for some snacks. It was that time of day between lunch and dinner when it was vital for a teenage boy to eat something. Nothing big, just a skydog, some chips, flamecorn...whatever. Although he heard footsteps coming down the corridor he was too busy searching for something to eat to care.

"Finn!" Aerrow yelled, catching the blond completely off-guard.

Startled, he quickly turned to face his Sky Knight. "What is it?"

"We need to talk now," he replied coldly. "Privately."

Finn was confused, as well as frightened, at his Sky Knight's outburst. Aerrow looked absolutely livid, like he was ready to choke him to death. He couldn't fathom why the redhead was so angry. He did get separated from the others during the morning patrol, but that was no reason for Aerrow to be so irate. This wasn't like him, even when Finn did something stupid.

"Okay," Finn replied slowly.

The blond knew something had happened to him during the morning patrol. Piper and Junko would give him strange looks and evade his every question while Aerrow was out on the afternoon patrol. Not to mention the way the three of them were acting towards him when they returned from their morning run. Aerrow looked upset but he seemed fine by early afternoon. Initially, Finn thought his Sky Knight was upset at him for getting separated from the squad during the morning run, but the more he thought about it the less sense it made; so he brushed it off as everyone having a bad morning.

"Your room," Aerrow said flatly, glaring at him.

"Yeah, sure. My room," the sharpshooter replied, trying not to show any fear.

When they entered Finn's room Aerrow closed the door and promptly locked it. "Man, you're serious about the privately part," the blond mumbled.

Aerrow didn't respond. He faced the door, hands pressed against it, elbows bent. Finn stood next to his desk in an awkward, and somewhat fearful, silence. He was becoming anxious and did not want to be in the same room as the redhead; he could feel a vast amount of bad ambiance filling the room. Finn opened his mouth to speak; but Aerrow suddenly spoke, still facing the door.

"Would you ever betray us?"

"What...?" Finn said shocked, wondering if he had heard right.

"Would you ever betray us?" Aerrow repeated angrily, turning to face Finn.

"No," the blond replied, horrified that his Sky Knight had even thought of such a thing. "You know I'd never do that."

Aerrow glared at him and he didn't like the look.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," the Sky Knight seethed venomously. "Would you betray us?"

He was practically in Finn's face and the blond was ready to pass out from fear. It was the first time he had ever been afraid of Aerrow. Finn started shaking and found himself unable to speak; he could feel his eyes welling up with tears. Aerrow drew one of his blades and pointed it at Finn's throat.

"Answer me!" he yelled. His eyes were filled with a fury Finn had never seen before. "Would you ever betray us?"

"No!" Finn cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why do you keep asking me that?" He could feel the blade pricking the skin of his throat. "What did I ever do to make you think that?"

He could see the hate in Aerrow's eyes and he knew the Sky Knight didn't believe him. Without answering, Aerrow withdrew his blade and walked towards the door. He turned back to Finn briefly, glaring with an intense malice and walked out.

Finn fell to his knees sobbing. He leaned back against his desk and pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He couldn't stop crying. Why does he think I would betray them? Do the others feel the same way?

That night, Finn didn't show up for dinner and Aerrow didn't seem to care. Nor did he show much interest in his own food. Junko took a few bites of his, but for the most part he just pushed it around his plate. Piper never bothered to pick up a utensil. Those two had looks of malcontent. Something was making them unhappy. Then there was Aerrow. The redhead looked like he was desperate to kill something—or someone. The discontented atmosphere was making Stork uneasy, downright petrified to be exact; but somehow he found the courage to speak.

"Sh-should I g-go get Finn?" the Merb squeezed out.

"No," Aerrow replied, pushing his food around.

"I could bring some food to—"

"No!" Stork cringed and sank into his seat at the Sky Knight's reaction. "If he wants something, he can come and get it." He threw his fork down. "I'm going to my room."

As soon as he was gone Stork sat back up. He looked back and forth at Piper and Junko as Radarr climbed onto what should've been Finn's seat. The animal had been huddled underneath it since dinner had started. For the first time in his life, he was afraid of Aerrow. He grabbed the food off Aerrow's plate and began eating. The three other Storm Hawks stared at him but the animal paid no attention. Stork sighed and began eating; Junko and Piper soon followed. The meal was completed in relative silence.

Something was direly wrong. Stork had heard Aerrow yelling at Finn when he had gone to grab something from his room. What he heard wasn't Aerrow, not the Aerrow he knew. And Finn...from the little he heard from the blond he knew it was all fear; fear of Aerrow. He also noticed Piper and Junko acting odd. Stork had a horrible feeling that whatever was going on was not going to go away anytime soon; if at all. He had to find out what happened to their Sky Knight. He couldn't let his paranoia get in the way. Yeah, right.

Stork sighed. This is not going to end well.

Finn sat on the floor, leaning against the end of his bed. He had since stopped crying, yet his eyes remained red from the tears. It was well after dinner now and no one had come to see why he hadn't shown up, nobody came to see if he wanted anything. He would have gotten himself something, but he was too scared to leave his room with Aerrow the way he was. No one seemed to care; at least, that's how he felt. He was nearly convinced that they all believed he would betray them, until he heard a light knock on his door. He opened it up to find a plate of hot food and a glass of water sitting on the floor. As he bent down to pick it up he caught a glimpse of their carrier pilot out of the corner of his eye. The Merb hadn't been acting like the others towards him. He figured Stork was as clueless as he was as to what was going on.

When he finished, he placed the plate and glass back outside his room. He closed the door and lied down on his bed. He hadn't been laying there long when he heard footsteps again. They stopped at his door. There was a heavy sigh and the clacking of the glass and plate.

"That redheaded March Hare is going to kill me for bringing you dinner."

A small grin crossed Finn's lips. Good ol' Stork. He leaned against the door, his grin gone. He was about to say something when Stork spoke.

"I don't know what his problem is. I mean, he wouldn't even let me come and see why you hadn't shown up for dinner after the rest of us had come. When I didn't see you there I figured one of them would go get you, but when they just sat there with those looks of malcontent, which really creeped me out, I volunteered to go get you but he gave me that look and said 'no.' I thought he was going to snap my neck." Stork was starting to ramble. "We ate, sort of, in silence, which under normal circumstances would have been a breath of fresh air for me but it was not a very benevolent silence and then when I offered to bring you some food, well..." He sighed. "Look, I have no idea what's going on here. I don't know why he believes what he does."

Finn leaned his head against the door, tears in his eyes. "Hey, Stork?"

"Yeah."

"Do you...do you believe I would betray you guys?"

There was silence. Finn was beginning to fear his answer but a half-smile crept onto his face when the pilot finally answered.

"No, Finn, I don't." He paused. "But I can't speak for the others. From what I've seen, and inadvertently heard, these past ten hours, I don't think there's any chance of convincing them you wouldn't, especially..." He sighed again.

"But why is he so..." Finn searched his brain for the right word, but his mind yielded nothing. "All these years, I believed he trusted me, that we were friends. Heh. I even considered him a brother... Shows how naive I really am." Tears began to fall down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Finn," Stork said, sorrow in his voice. "I don't know what to do." He paused for a moment, staring at Finn's door. "Good night, Finn."

"Good night, Stork."

He stood at the door, listening to the Merb's footsteps fade away. When he could no longer hear them he slid down the door onto the floor. His tears began to fall harder and he quickly found himself sobbing uncontrollably. Why is this happening? What did I do?

The following morning, Finn awoke to the sound of skimmers. He looked at the clock on his nightstand as the sound of the sky-rides faded away. Eight-thirty.

"Morning patrol," he said with a yawn. "Don't bother getting me. Not like I wanted to go."

And it was probably just as well. He'd be able to relax and possibly eat breakfast before Aerrow returned. He got out of bed and dressed quickly; he didn't want to waste any time. Aerrow could easily make a short trip of the sweep. He headed down the corridor, cautiously, to the bridge. The last few steps to the bridge were tentative ones; he was unsure of what might be awaiting him. To his relief, Stork was the only one on the bridge, though a blue, furry dart did fly past him off the bridge as he stepped in.

"Hey, Stork," Finn said.

The Merb turned around. "Hey," he said softly. "Sleep well?"

"Dreamless...but otherwise okay. Not sure when I made it to my bed." His eyes darted around the bridge.

Stork turned back to the helm. "Piper left some sandcakes for you in the kitchen."

"Oh. Good. Guess I'll go eat then."

"Probably a good idea."

As he reached the door, Finn turned to the pilot. "Hey, Stork."

"What is it?"

"Thanks for bringing me dinner last night."

A small smile crossed the Merb's lips. "Sure thing."

Finn sighed as the door closed behind him. "I hope this turns out to be a good day."

Nearing the kitchen he heard the clacking of plates and silverware. He peered around the doorframe into the kitchen and was completely taken aback by what he saw. There on the table was a plate of sandcakes and a glass of grape juice and standing by the chair was Radarr. He pulled the chair back, smiling at Finn.

"You set this up?" the blond said, a forlorn look on his face.

Radarr nodded, still smiling.

A weak smile worked its way onto Finn's face. "Thanks buddy."

He sat down at the table and began to eat. Man, Piper's sandcakes are good. Radarr grabbed some fruit off the counter and jumped onto the chair across from Finn. He reached over and scratched the animal behind the ears. Normally, Radarr abhorred being scratched or petted; he always felt that that was something you did to a pet and he was not a pet. But this was different. For one thing, it felt good and he knew he needed it just as much as Finn did.

"So," Finn began, "why aren't you out there with them?" Radarr's posture drooped and he let out a whimper. Finn frowned, lowering his head. "Oh, you too, huh." He laid his fork down. "I just wish I knew why."

Radarr hopped down from the chair and walked over to the sharpshooter. They looked at each other, the same expression on each of their faces. Finn gave a weak smile and lowered his arm. Radarr returned the blond's weak smile and climbed up onto his shoulder.

"Come on, buddy. Maybe we can find some good music to listen to in my room."

Finn ate his next two meals in his room and Radarr kept him company. Aerrow didn't seem to care. For the most part, Aerrow ignored them both. Every so often, however, those times when Finn would run into him, the Sky Knight would glare at him balefully; but he wouldn't say anything.

Both meals were brought to him by Piper. "He let me bring it to you," she said to him, her voice quivering.

At lunch he merely said "thank you" and nothing more. He couldn't read her face or body language at all. She wasn't Piper. He couldn't be sure if she was wary of him or of Aerrow. So when she brought him dinner that night, he asked her.

She handed him the plate and glass and then turned to leave.

"Do you believe I would betray you?"

She stared at him. He stared back, waiting for her reply.

She dropped her gaze to the floor and turned back around. "I don't know, Finn."

Finn didn't get much out of Junko either. The Wallop seemed to be afraid to talk to him. He seemed to be afraid of Aerrow. Had it been any other Wallop Finn would have laughed at the very idea, but Junko wasn't any other Wallop.

Stork would talk to him...when Aerrow wasn't around. Finn understood the Merb's reasoning. He really didn't want to talk to anyone when their Sky Knight was around, either; but they were always giving each other certain looks, their form of silent communication.

And then there was Radarr. The animal had gone from being Aerrow's constant to his. Radarr slept in his room that night and Aerrow didn't seem bothered by it. It was almost as if he preferred it that way. Finn had never felt so hurt in his life and the blue, furry creature could sense it. He, too, felt hurt; but that was more because of Aerrow's cruelty to Finn. He, on the other hand, was just being flat out ignored by the one he believed to be his best bud.

Radarr lay in the middle of Finn's bed, waiting for the blond to finish showering. His ears perked up at the sound of the door opening. Finn stepped in, a forlorn expression on his face. Evidently, he'd had a run-in with their Sky Knight. He closed and locked the door behind him. He sat back on his bed, leaning against the wall. Radarr climbed into his lap and looked up at him. Finn sighed heavily, scratching the animal's neck.

"When's this gonna end, Radarr?" Radarr let out a small whimper, laying his chin on Finn's leg. "Is it gonna end?"

He woke up the next morning to find Radarr curled up on the bed under his chin. He smiled a genuine smiled for the first time in two days but his smile would be short lived. He didn't even get the chance to sit up before there was a knock at his door. He slowly slipped out of bed and opened the door. Junko stood on the other side holding two plates of food, two glasses and a carton of orange juice. His ears were laid back and there was a despondent look on his face.

"Uhm, this is for you and Radarr." He handed the fare to Finn. Radarr took the juice and cups. "When you're done just..." The Wallop trailed off as if searching his brain for the right words. "Just put the dishes in the kitchen and it's okay if you drink all the juice 'cause Aerrow said he doesn't care." Finn stared at him, hoping his best pal would just...talk to him. "Uhm, that's all." But his hope was crushed. Junko quickly turned and walked away.

"Thanks," Finn said softly, closing the door.

Radarr looked up. The two exchanged saddened expressions. Finn sat their plates down on the desk as Radarr poured the juice. Why are you guys acting like this? Finn looked over at Radarr.

"I wonder if this is what happened to Dark Ace," he said quietly.

Finn spent most of his time in his room (with Radarr as company) venturing out only to use the bathroom and occasionally grab a snack from the kitchen. However, he was growing sick of being in his room so much; he wanted some fresh air.

"I need some air," he said to Radarr.

Aerrow was in his own room; Finn could hear him talking to himself as he passed by. Good. I don't have to deal with him. At least for now. He stopped in front of the bridge door, debating on whether or not to make an appearance. He decided against it. Radarr, who was on his shoulder, looked at him.

"Go on," he said to the animal. "I'll be out on the deck."

Radarr jumped down and stepped onto the bridge; Finn headed for the hangar.

"I hate this thing," Finn mumbled as he climbed down the ladder. "I bet this was Dark Ace's idea." He paused in thought. "Or maybe his Sky Knight's idea." Finn smirked to himself as he walked towards the deck. He stopped when he noticed how dirty their sky-rides were. "Man, don't they know how to clean their rides?"

He tried to ignore it and walk out onto the deck but his feet wouldn't move and neither would his eyes. Finally giving in, he ran off to grab what he needed. He had to wash them. Dirty skimmers did not perform well... Okay, they performed fine; but there was no reason for them to stay dirty.

He returned to the dirty sky-rides with a rag and a bucket of soapy water, put his headphones on (can't work without music) and promptly went to work cleaning Piper's heli-scooter. He cleaned it and Junko's skimmer fairly quickly as they weren't real dirty, but dirty enough that they needed to be cleaned. Then there was Aerrow's skimmer. What was he doing with it? Playing in a mudpit?

With his headphones on and the music up just loud enough to shut out most of the outside noise, he went to work on Aerrow's skimmer. He was nearly finished when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Get away," Aerrow snapped, jerking the blond backwards and knocking his headphones off.

"I'm just washing it," Finn said, rubbing his shoulder.

What did Aerrow think he was doing? Sabotaging his sky-ride? Of course, with the redhead believing he would betray them, the blond wouldn't put it past him.

"Don't tell me you still believe I'd betray you," Finn seethed. Aerrow glared at him. "I can't believe this." He tossed the rag onto Aerrow's skimmer.

"Just stay out of the hangar," Aerrow said flatly. "And stay off the bridge unless somebody else is there."

Unless some body else is there, Finn thought. Stork's almost always on the bridge. Unless...

"In other words, stay off the bridge unless you're there," Finn replied just as flatly.

The whole idea was absurd and if Aerrow hadn't been so serious Finn would have laughed. He could still see the fury in the redhead's eyes. Finn knew he had ticked the Sky Knight off with his remark. He huffed at Finn, giving him a mock laugh.

"You honestly think I'm going to stay out of the hangar because you told me to," Finn replied haughtily, knowing what Aerrow was thinking. "What did you think I was doing? Sabotaging your ride?"

What's worse than a glare? Whatever it is, that's what Finn was receiving from his Sky Knight. It was the same look Aerrow had given him two days ago in his room. Finn didn't like the look then and he definitely didn't like it now. He watched the Sky Knight reach for his blade, but Aerrow stopped when Finn flinched.

"Stay out of the hangar," he seethed.

"What are you gonna do?" Finn said snottily. "Confine me to my quarters?" Like I haven't been doing that to myself already.

He put his arm down. "You know Finn...that's not a bad idea."

"You don't believe I'm going to betray you," the blond returned, now certain of what he had been merely suspicious of. "You believe I already have. That's why you don't want me in the hangar. You think I'll take one of the skimmers and meet up with...oh, let's say, Dark Ace." Finn glared back at Aerrow in annoyance. "And you know that our very own carrier pilot believes me and not you."

"Don't be ridiculous," the redhead scoffed.

"Or maybe," the sharpshooter continued with a snarl, "you want me to betray the Storm Hawks."

"Go!"

As they reached the bridge door Finn, deciding to be snotty again, said, "Now what? You gonna send me to my room?" He pushed Finn away from the bridge and down the corridor. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

He wasn't about to defy the Sky Knight at that point. He had done enough by talking and he could feel that bad ambiance again. Finn stepped into his room. Being confined to his quarters was probably healthy for both of them, mainly him.

Finn plopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What had gotten into Aerrow? The whole thing was absurd. They had to have run into something that day that caused all of this. If not someone.

But who?

Finn awoke, this time, to the annoying beeping of his annoying alarm clock. He stared at it, making no attempt to shut it off. Well, at least for a few seconds. He reached out and slammed his fist on the reset button. It had been three days since the confrontation in the hangar and Finn had seen neither hide nor hair of Aerrow until last night, when he had actually come to Finn's room and asked him why he hadn't shown up for dinner. Aerrow seemed normal. And when he joined the rest of the squad he was greeted with a "took you long enough." He glanced at Radarr and Stork who merely shrugged. They, except Stork and Radarr, acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. However, he and Stork periodically glanced at each other with looks of uncertainty; when no one was looking.

There was a pounding on his door that forced him to sit up, which was followed by the jovial voice of Junko. "Come on, Finn. Aerrow won't let me start eating 'til you get down there."

Maybe things are getting better, Finn thought as he pulled his pants on.

"Fi-in..."

"I'm coming."

Finn slumped into his chair next to Junko, yawning. Aerrow was sitting at the end of the table holding tightly to Radarr who was lunging for the large stack of sandcakes at the center of the table. Aerrow was grimacing at Radarr; Stork was glaring at Radarr; Junko was staring at the food, drooling; and Piper was rolling her eyes at them. Maybe things really were getting back to normal. Finn remained wary, however. Aerrow, Piper and Junko may not have remembered what had happened over the past week, but Finn still wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"It's about time you got down here," Stork said in his usual manner, still keeping his eyes on Radarr.

"Yeah, well..." was all Finn managed for a reply.

"You seem kinda tense, Finn," Aerrow said, sounding like...well, Aerrow. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," he rushed out.

"You sure?" the redhead said, concern in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the blond answered with a grin.

"Can we eat now?" Junko said, staring at the sandcakes.

"Yes, Junko, you can eat now," Piper said with a laugh.

Stork pinned Radarr's head to the table. "You last."

The animal's eyes wandered to Aerrow. The redhead shrugged and grabbed a sandcake.

Finn looked around the table as he ate. Everything seemed so normal. Aerrow acted as if he had never accused the blond of betrayal or put a blade to his throat. No one made any mention of betrayal, but Finn couldn't keep it out of his mind.

Yeah, I know. I'm evil. The final chapter should be up sometime this weekend. The cloaked-figure will be back in the next chapter.